Into the Fury
Into the Fury By: Pinefur And don't forget to read the Allegiances before reading! _____________________________________________________________________________________ Prologue It was late leaf-fall and the trees around the Twolegplace where starting to have their leaves float off the trees. The outside garden was cold, too cold for any of the kittypets to be outside. Except for one- "Holly, come outside!" A large gray tom cat yowled. There was no answer. "Holly?" The cat meowed again. The tom cat hopped off the fence and trotted back through the small door. The tom cat spotted his nestmate in the window of the inside nest. "Holly, what are you doing? Don't you wanna come outside? I could hear other cats in the distance." "No, Hermine, I don't. You know I hate the cold. Don't you ever listen to me? And I don't give a rat's tail about other cats. If they weren't the other house cats, I don't care." Holly retorted hotly to Hermine. Hermine felt a hot flash of anger stir within him. "I don't know what's gotten into you, but I surely don't like it! You-" Hermine was cut off by a loud screeching noise from outside the nest. In the window Holly obviously saw something Hermine didn't. Her back was arched, her neck fur was bristled and her lips were drawn back in a snarl. "H- He- Hermine!" Holly hissed, her paws trembling. "What is it? What do you see, Holly?" Hermine wanted to dart through the door and take on whatever Holly saw, but he made sure he was frozen to the floor beneath him. "Strange cats! In our garden!" Holly yowled. "Oh, no! This isn't gonna happen, not today!" "Can't you ever just be good? You're always looking for a fight! M- Maybe they're looking for someone, or something. . ." Holly mewed, trembling. "You don't sound too convinced." Hermine hissed. At that moment four cats exploded through the small door. They where hissing and snarling. "This is the end, kittypet!" The largest one said. They seemed to not see Hermine, because they all headed straight for Holly up on the window. "Holly!" Chapter 1 Gingerleaf hopped over a bramble thicket, careful not to scare any prey that was around. She had wanted to go to the Starpool, and didn't want to get caught. So after her visit she went hunting so it looked like she had actually been doing something for the good of PineClan instead of trekking all the way to SpiritClan's territory. A plump sparrow had landed practically into her paws. She finished it off with one bite to the neck. "Gotcha! That's three!" She headed back to the camp, praying to StarClan no one would notice she was gone long. She headed through the Pine Tunnel and into the camp clearing. "Where have you been, Gingerleaf?" Pinefur, one of the senior warriors, asked. Fox dung! "Oh, hi, Pinefur! I've just been out hunting. I was also enjoying the beautiful pine forest. It's always the most beautiful in leaf-fall." Gingerleaf lied. "Ah, yes it is. Well, thanks for hunting!" Pinefur meowed. "Yes, your're welcome." Gingerleaf drooped her prey on the fresh-kill pile and took a sparrow for herself. She padded beside the Warriors' den and plopped down. Her mind started drifting. Gingerleaf wished she had been a medicine cat. She would have done great. As a kit, she didn't have the common since she has now. She didn't realize she wanted to be one until after she became a warrior. Now, every chance she gets, she travels to the Starpool in SpiritClan's territory to try to speak with StarClan. Only medicine cats are allowed to go there. "Gingerleaf?" "Gingerleaf!" A cat had sat next to her. "Oh! Sorry. Yes, Stareyes?" "You seemed to have went into a daze there. I wanted to ask you, did you hear that noise at the Twolegplace a few moonrises ago?" Now that Gingerleaf thought about it, she had heard something that sounded like a battle. "Actually, Stareyes, I did. It sounded as if some kittypets weren't getting on with each other." "That's what I thought. Foreststar says she's going to send out a patrol to the Twolegplace to check and see if everything is alright. Would you like to come?" Stareyes mewed. Gingerleaf was floored. "You mean Foreststar wants to make sure that the kittypets ''are okay? Is she crazy?" "I thought the same thing, but Foreststar says that any cats' life is important. No matter what kind of blood they have. Don't forget Firestar was a kittypet." Stareyes meowed thoughtfully. "Okay, I guess you're right. I'll come." 'Chapter 2' As the patrol left, Gingerleaf heard a small voice behind her. "You.. you didn't bring any apprentices. May I come?" Gineleaf looked around at the patrol. She didn't see any of the apprentices with them. Just the Warriors. Gingerleaf looked at the deputy. "Grayclaw, it's up to you." Gingerleaf meowed. Grayclaw thought for a moment. "Oh, okay. Just don't get into trouble, Tigerpaw." "Yay! Thanks Grayclaw!" Tigerpaw let out a little squeak. Gingerleaf's mind started going again. "Hey, Tigerpaw," Gingerleaf started. "We don't know exactly what happened down at the Twolegplace. Make sure when we get there you say by me or Grayclaw in case a fight breaks out, okay?" Tigerpaw looked hurt. "I can fight! I'm not some helpless kit, you know!" Tigerpaw retorted. Gingerleaf felt bad for saying it in that manner, but Tigerpaw had to know the facts if he ever wanted to become a warrior. "Tigerpaw, I know you're not a kit, but you're the youngest of the apprentices. And I never said there was going to be a fight. I said just in case. I'm sure the kittypets are nice. . ." Gingerleaf hoped she was right. "Kittypets can't be nothing but nice! They're so plum and pampered!" Tigerpaw yowled. "You've never met a kittypet, how do you know that?" Stareyes meowed from the front. "That's right Tigerpaw." Gingerleaf agreed. "Neither have you guys!" He retorted. "Lets stop this argument, okay guys?" Pinefur hissed. The group stopped. As Grayclaw was leading the patrol, the path below them spread out to a long, tall shiny thing. "I think we're here, guys." Grayclaw called out to the patrol. "How do we get their attention?" Gingerleaf wondered out loud. "I'll jump on the shiny thing and make some noise." Stareyes meowed. Grayclaw looked doubtful. "Are you sure that's such a good idea?" "Of course! How else are you supposed to get their attention? Walk into their nest? I don't think so." Stareyes retorted. He took a large leap and landed lopsided onto the shiny thing. He then started rocking back and forth to make a loud clinging sound. "Here comes one!" Stareyes whispered. From the far side of the Twoleg nest, a large gray cat came out of a little door. His pelt was bristling and his lips were drawn back in a snarl. His leg also had a white thing wrapped around this leg. The cat limped over to the shiny thing where the patrol was. "What is ''this?!" Chapter 3 '' Gingerleaf's pelt was bristling. ''We are here to help you. Why give us that tone? '' "Hello, I am Stareyes, and this is Pinefur, Grayclaw, Gingerleaf and Tigerpaw. We heard some fighting going on the other day and we wanted to make sure everything was alright." The gray cat's pelt was bristling even more now. "You are rogues too, aren't you?! Get away from my nest!" The cat hissed. "No! We aren't rogues. We are Clan cats. There are four Clans in this forest. PineClan, SpiritClan, BrookClan, and FlurryClan. We are just here to see if everything is okay." Stareyes meowed coolly. "Fine. I'm Hermine. And that cat over there by the door is Holly. We are nestmates." "Hello there." Stareyes waved his tail to Holly. "Hi." Holly replied hotly. "What happened here?" "These rogues attacked me and Holly. But thankfully Snowflake and Christmas got Juniper and Nutmeg and we outnumbered them." Hermine meowed bitterly. "But everything is fine now, thanks." "Good. Well, then, everything seems fine, we can leave. We will keep an eye out for those rogues for you guys." Grayclaw mewed. Gingerleaf nodded to Hermine in goodbye but then she heard Tigerpaw be stupid. "Wow! You're awesome looking! Who are you?" Tigerpaw meowed. "Hi there, little one. I'm Her-" He was cut off. "That's the kittypet you were making fun of on the way here! Now don't you see why I yelled at you? He's nice!" Gingerleaf hissed. "Hermine. . . I'm Hermine." Hermine let out a snort of amusement. "Hermine, lets get back inside, it's cold." Holly complained. "Yes, we shall go too. If you need any help, just come and visit. Just head straight down this path into our camp. Goodbye!" Stareyes meowed, cuffing Tigerpaw over the ear. "Yes, goodbye." ''Chapter 4 A few days had passed since the Clan cats had gone to visit the kittypets. Tigerpaw was still boasting about how weird kittypets are, even though he thought Hermine was cool, how many times he's denied it. Gingerleaf was watching the nursery from where she lay under the Tall Pine. Ferntail looked huge. She would be kitting any day now. She wondered something- would she ever take on a mate? Would she ever have kits. It would be good for the Clan, but there's no cat Gingerleaf is emotionally attached to. She wished she could have a love just as great as Ferntail and Liondust. "I guess that'll never happen." "Eh?" Tigerpaw was sitting next to her. "What will never happen?" "Oh! Nothing. Just thinking, Tigerpaw." Gingerleaf saw a gleam of mischief spark in Tigerpaw's eyes. "I'm going hunting, okay? I'll be back soon." Tigerpaw mewed. "Okay, you don't have to tell me, I'm not your mentor, eh?" "Right." Tigerpaw trotted out through the Pine Tunnel. Gingerleaf's mind started going again. I wonder if Tigerpaw is actually going hunting. Probably not. He's going to get himself into trouble somehow. Should I follow him? No. . . That wouldn't be right. But. . . What if he get's himself killed or something? STOP! He isn't a kit! He's fine. Ah! No! I'm following him, StarClan, you agree with me, eh? Gingerleaf got up and padded quickly out of the camp and into the pine forest. She found his scent mixed in with the pines and started tracking. She followed his scent down the Pine Path in the direction of the Twolegplace. She ran into an unfamiliar scent mixed with Tigerpaw's, then, Tigerpaw's scent disappears. What? "Tigerpaw?" Gingerleaf meowed. "Tigerpaw?!" "Oh no. Who took him?!" Gingerleaf felt lightheaded. I should've went with him! '' "Help me!" A yowl sounded behind her. "Tigerpaw!" Gingerleaf turned around to find a small Siamese she-cat standing behind her. "Help. . . I'm lost! I've never been outside of my garden before! I don't know what I was thinking! I saw this small brown cat walk by and I tried to tell him it was dangerous out there with all the other cats around but he didn't hear me and I jumped over to get closer but then a cat took him. . and. . . " "Calm down, it's okay! Are you a kittypet?" Gingerleaf asked. "Am I a what? No! I come from my nest! My housefolk!" ''Kittypet. "What are you called?" Gingerleaf asked. "I-I'm Christmas. W-Who are you?" "I'm Gingerleaf. I'm a PineClan warrior." "I need help. I want to find that brown cat!" Christmas yowled. "Okay, we will. The brown cat's name is Tigerpaw. Did you say a cat took him?" "Yes!" Gingerleaf explained quickly that she needed to come back to camp real quick to tell the Clan. Then they could search, and she could go home. Chapter 5 Gingerleaf and Christmas exploded into the clearing of the camp. "Tigerpaw has been taken!" Gingerleaf yowled, loud enough for Foreststar to hear. Foreststar hopped down from her Pine Den and landed in front of Gingerleaf and Christmas. "What is the meaning of all of this?" Foreststar demanded. "And who is that?" "I- I'm Christmas. . . I saw Tigerpaw get taken. A group of cats took him." "Where do you come from?" Foreststar asked. "I'm a housecat." Foreststar looked confused. "A what?" Gingerleaf spoke up. "A kittypet. She's a kittypet!" "Ah." Gingerleaf explained how Christmas got lost from her nest and saw Tigerpaw. "Well, we will send out a search party for Tigerpaw, and Christmas, you may stay here in our Clan until you can find your home." "Oh, thank you!" Christmas meowed joyfully to Foreststar. "It's my pleasure, Christmas. You can sleep in the nursery with Ferntail." Foreststar mewed. All of the cats where agreeing with Foreststar. . . Except for one cat- Thornfang. "Why are you letting her stay here if she lives at the Twolegplace? I can get there in no time! I'll take her back if you want." Thornfang challenged. Foreststar gave him a stern glance. "She looks much too tired to travel all the way back to her home today, Thornfang! Show some respect for our visitor." Foreststar hissed. "Yes, Foreststar. I just hope you're not turning into a Firestar." Thornfang replied hotly before trotting away. "Ignore him. You're welcome in our Clan, and you may stay as long as you wish." ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ By sunhigh Foreststar was done setting up the search party. "Thornfang, this is your ''apprentice who has been taken! Are you coming or not?" Foreststar hissed at Thornfang. "Fine." "Liondust, Stareyes, Gingerleaf, Oakpaw, Tallpaw, Whitepaw! Let's go!" Gingerleaf wondered for a brief second if Christmas should come along too. "Foreststar?" Gingerleaf spoke up. "Yes?" "Should Christmas come along too?" "I thought about that too, Gingerleaf. But I think she's had enough for one day. And plus, she helped us a lot." "I guess you're right, Foreststar." Gingerleaf waved her tail in goodbye to Christmas in the opening to the nursery. Christmas waved back. ''StarClan help us. '' 'Chapter 6' "Can you believe it? Foreststar let a ''kittypet ''stay in our Clan! This is going to make us look so bad!" Liondust boasted. They where following Tigerpaw's scent trail through the thickly shaded pine forest. As they where walking, the sky grew darker and darker. "I hope it doesn't rain. It'll wash away Tigerpaw's scent trail." Meowed Gingerleaf. "Thanks for that thought!" Liondust hissed. Gingerleaf was hurt. Liondust has been mean ever since he found out he and Ferntail were having kits. ''Maybe he's just worried. Gingerleaf felt a drop of rain hit her in her face. "Ah!" Drip, Drip, Drop. And down came the rain, right through the pine trees. "Fox dung!!" Stareyes yowled. "Don't get your tail in a knot, Stareyes. It's just rain." Thornfang hissed. "Well maybe you can shut up! This rain ''is going to wash away the scent trail! Don't you care about your apprentice at all? You're just an extra load on our tails." The others murmured in agreement. Thornfang snorted. Gingerleaf fell in step beside Oakpaw, when she suddenly heard a crackling noise. The patrol stopped. Stareyes growled. "Who's there?" Gingerleaf opened her mouth to scent who was there. ''Rouges! With Tigerpaw mingled! '' A huge black tom cat jumped out from behind the holly bush they where standing in front of. Gingerleaf felt her neck fur rise. She let out a hiss, along with Stareyes. "What's this?" The black tom growled in a low voice. Stareyes stiffened. "We should ask you the same question. Why do you have our cat?" Stareyes hissed to the black tom. "Hmm, you have a good sense of smell, do you?" The tom flicked his tail, and once again the bush crackled. Three more cats emerged from the bush. A small tan tom, a gray she-cat, and a Siamese she-cat. Followed behind them was Tigerpaw. ''Tigerpaw! '' "This-" The black tom pointed to the small tan tom with his tail. "This is Wolf" "The gray she-cat is Timber." He flicked his tail toward the Siamese. "That is Acorn." "And I am Jay." Stareyes' eyes blazed. "And that-" Stareyes flicked his tail towards Tigerpaw. "Is ''our cat!" "I'm sorry to say, but no. . . No. . . He's not. He's our cat now. And his name is Tiger- and Tiger only." Jay growled challenging the patrol. "My name is Tigerpaw!" "Take him away, Timber." "Yes, Jay," "Liondust, follow her! Take Oakpaw with you." Stareyes whispered, too low for the rouges to hear. They ran in the opposite direction, but they knew they'd catch up soon. "Is this going to have to be a fight?" Stareyes challenged. Gingerleaf flexed her claws into the earth. "So be it!" Jay yowled a battle cry. Jay leaped onto Stareyes. Gingerleaf saw Acorn hurdling toward her, and she dodged her with a swift roll. Gingerleaf hopped on top of her, biting down hard into her shoulder. It was a flurry of teeth and claws. Acorn flipped over and tore into Gingerleaf's belly. "Enough of this! You rouges have caused enough trouble around here, from the Clans to the Nests!" Gingerleaf let go of Acorn to see who was speaking. It was a large fluffy gray tom with a small black she-cat. Holly and Hermine! ''Chapter 7 "Holly! Hermine! What are you doing out of your gardens? Or- nests. . .?" Gingerleaf felt her legs shake beneath her. Hermine gave her a look she couldn't read. "There's no time for questions, Gingerleaf. We must fight this battle. We brought the other housecats with us." Gingerleaf glanced back to see three she-cats behind them. One fluffy white with a brown tail, one brown tabby with huge ears, and another with a light brown pelt that resembles nutmeg. Jay looked disgusted. "Aww, look! The kittypets came to fight for their rights. How pathetic! Go back to your nest and run to your twolegs so they can feed you!" Hermine's amber eyes blazed under the shade of the pine trees. "After this, you're gonna wish you where back with your mother beside her stomach!" Hermine launched his large back legs into the air and landed right on top of Jay. ''Where did he learn that move? He's a kittypet! At that moment, the battle started once again. Gingerleaf found herself fighting side-by-side with the fluffy white she-cat with a brown tail. She was fighting Acorn, who Gingerleaf was fighting before they showed up. Gingerleaf felt a jolt of pain shoot down her neck. She realized that Wolf was on top of her, trying to bite her throat. StarClan, he's trying to kill me! '' Gingerleaf turned her neck away, but she didn't turn it in time. Wolf lodged his sharp, wolf-like teeth into Gingerleaf's throat, and she convulsed with pain. ''Fox dung! Blood poured from the wound in Gingerleaf's throat. She felt as if she would pass out. "Good. One dead." Wolf commented, licking Gingerleaf's blood off of his paw. "Y- you won't get away with this" Gingerleaf meowed through convulsions. "Oh, little tortie. You're at a dead end. You don't even look that useful. What do you do for your Clan? Sit there and drool over kittypets?" Wolf hissed, and scratched Gingerleaf across the ear. ". . .It's so funny. . how the cats w-who know the least about you, have t-the most to say, isn't it?" Gingerleaf took one last breath before falling into a pit of darkness. . . Chapter 8 A black sky painted with stars filled the clearing. Clouds of mist whipped down, down, down, into a pool made of crystal ice in a valley of snow. The're were constellations and galaxies of stars in the icy pool. As the mist whipped down into the ice, the stars seemed to move. They formed silhouettes of ancient cats before the four Clans now in the territory. "What shall we do, Bluestar?" A tortoiseshell she-cat asked. "Spottedleaf, you're a medicine cat. Isn't this your kind of decision?" Bluestar seemed to be troubled by something. "Yes, Bluestar, but, sometimes not even a medicine cat can make a life or death decision." Spottedleaf meowed the reply. As Bluestar and Spottedleaf where debating, a grayish silver tom with intense blue eyes padded over to them. "Welcome, Jayfeather. You have a special gift, can you make this decision?" Bluestar meowed to Jayfeather. "My gift doesn't concern this, Bluestar. But what I can tell you is that she has entered the ranks of StarClan, and is most likely listening to this conversation." Spottedleaf looked upset. "So, we couldn't save her?" Spottedleaf mewled. "Spottedleaf, don't worry. I know that only you knows her destiny. So, it's up to you to leave her in PineClan, or bring her into the ranks of StarClan." Jayfeather meowed. Spottedleaf looked thoughtful. "Okay." "Gingerleaf, you may come out of that bush now." Spottedleaf meowed amusingly. Carefully, Gingerleaf padded out of the snowy fern bush and into the clearing where the StarClan cats sit. "Welcome, Gingerleaf. This is StarClan." Spottedleaf meowed softly. Gingerleaf's mind was racing with questions. "A- am I dead?" Gingerleaf asked. "Gingerleaf. . . This is not your time. You have a wonderful destiny ahead of you, and so many surprises you wouldn't ever think would happen." "Ginger will be used on the wound, and the leaf will set the sky on fire." Spottedleaf murmured the prophecy as the StarClan cats and the clearing started fading. "Wait! Spottedleaf! What is that supposed to mean?" Gingerleaf yowled in alarm as the world around her blackened once again. A dull pain throbbed in Gingerleaf's throat, but everything was still black. StarClan, help me. . . '' 'Ginger will be used on the wound, and the leaf will set the sky on fire. ''' Chapter 9 Gingerleaf opened her eyes. Around her was a place she had never seen before. As she went to move her head, it was stiff. She had white stuff wrapped around her throat. "Where am I?" Gingerleaf heard a thump on the ground beside her. "Hi." Gingerleaf realized it was Hermine. "Hermine? What are you doing? What is this place?" Hermine looked upset. "This. . . This is my home. This is the Nest." Twolegplace?? What?! "Why am I here?" "Well, after Wolf tore your throat, I took you back to PineClan to see if your medicine cat could help you. Neither her or her apprentice could help. So I decided to bring you back here so my housefolk could bring you to the vet." Hermine padded the hard, shiny ground with his paw. "How long do I have to stay here?" "Only until you get better, Gingerleaf." At that moment, a twoleg came through the long thing in the wall. "Don't worry, she won't hurt you. She loves us." Holly hopped down from the window to greet her twoleg. The twoleg bent down to pet Holly and Hermine. Then, it padded over and stroked Gingerleaf lightly on the back, making happy noises. Why do I like this? '' "You seem to be enjoying that, Gingerleaf." Holly mewed amusingly. Gingerleaf let out a happy ''purrr. The twoleg hopped up and walked over to the window, shaking something. "It's feeding time." Hermine commented. "Oh?" Gingerleaf tried to get up, but couldn't. Hermine ran over to Gingerleaf. "Hey, don't get up. You'll hurt yourself. The housefolk will give it to you, okay?" Hermine gave Gingerleaf a swift lick on the ear. "Uh- um. . Okay.." Hermine walked back to where his housefolk was. She was pouring something hard into a bowl. In another, she was pouring something white and in another one clear, like water. She put the bowls up in the window and walked over to give Gingerleaf hers. "There you go, Heike." The housefolk seemed to murmur. I could understand her! '' "But my name isn't Heike..." Gingerleaf purred as she started lapping up the cream white stuff. Getting sleepy, she drifted into sleep. 'Chapter 10' Gingerleaf was standing under a big tree with orange leaves, thinking about her future, though, she didn't know what she was thinking about. As she was staring at the dark, gray sky, a snowflake came floating down and hit her on her nose. "It's the begining of leaf-bare." She whispered. "Gingerleaf!" A meow came from behind. Gingerleaf glanced behind herself, but saw nothing." "Gingerleaf!!" Came the meow again, louder this time. This time, when she turned around, there was Hermine, sitting behind her, his eyes fixed on something beyond. "W-What are you doing here?" Gingerleaf stuttered, not knowing what to say. Hermine said nothing, just sitting beside her with his eyes still fixed on that distant object. "Hermine?" Hermine got up off the cold ground and started to pad away. "Hermine!" "Yes, Gingerleaf?" "Why... Why are you here?" "I'm here because I love you, Gingerleaf, and I will protect you, forever and always." "What?" Hermine turned and padded away, letting the snow falling engulf him into the forest beyond. Gingerleaf felt a strange feeling pulse through her. She tossed and turned and her eyes popped open as she yowled. "Gingerleaf? What's wrong?" Holly meowed in alarm, trotting over to her in her nest. "What, where's everything? Wait..." "What happened Gingerleaf?" "I guess it was just a dream..." "Oh. Okay." "Where is Hermine?" Gingerleaf asked anxiously. "He's sitting on the fence outside. He said your friends came earlier seeing if you where well enough to come home. But Hermine said not quite yet. You can go out there to see him if you want. If, you can walk now." "Oh, okay, thanks Holly. Yeah, I can walk now." Gingerleaf got to her paws slowly, and limped over to the small opening in the wall. She walked through it and was exposed to the bitter cold air of the first day of leaf-bare. Snow was on everything. ''This looks too real. . . "Hermine?" "Gingerleaf, hi. I'm glad you came out. I want to talk to you." Gingerleaf walked over to him and hopped onto the fence, knowing she would never get down without hurting herself again. She felt Hermine's warmth and was comforted by it. "What is it, Hermine?" "I think I have feelings. . . ." Chapter 11 Gingerleaf's tail bristled. "What are you trying to say, Hermine?" Gingerleaf tried her best to talk normally to him, but her teeth were gritted so hard it hurt. Hermine had sad eyes. Sad eyes didn't work for Hermine's mindset. He was a large, tough cat, and those eyes were making Gingerleaf's stomach turn. "Gingerleaf, I. . ." Gingerleaf didn't know what to do. She panicked. "Just don't Hermine! My heart isn't in the condition for this right now!" Gingerleaf's breathing quickened. Hermine went to say something, then brought his sad, gold eyes to look at the frozen ground below him. He slowly brought his head back up. "Gingerleaf, I know you are going to be going back to your Clan soon, but I just wanted to tell you one thing before that time comes. Gingerleaf, I'm in love with you, and I know it's impossible to act on this because you will be leaving soon. And it's against StarClan for a Clan cat to be with a Kittypet, or any other cat outside of your Clan." For Gingerleaf, her entire life seemed to stop and lead up to this very moment. She was scared of what this would lead to. But the real question was, does Gingerleaf love Hermine as much as Hermine loves her? Hermine. . . I think I love you too... One question crossed Gingerleaf's mind. "Hermine. . . H-How did you know that part of the Warrior code, and what StarClan thinks?" "Oh Gingerleaf, before I came to greet my Housefolk, I was a Warrior of FlurryClan. That's why I have this thick pelt of fur, to survive the snowy terrain up there on the mountain. I joined my Housefolk because I wasn't fit to be a Warrior, let alone the deputy of the Clan!" Gingerleaf couldn't believe what she was hearing. ''So Hermine was the large gray cat I saw trekking across the terrain a few moons ago. . . '' "That's crazy, Hermine! We were in war with your Clan! I was an apprentice then." Gingerleaf sounded upset. "I know. . . I remember. I came face-to-face with you and I let you go, because at that moment I knew I loved you. When you came to my fence to see if everything was alright, I didn't recognize you at first, then I did. After that, I told my leader that I wanted to leave the Clan. I didn't want to risk fighting the cat I loved. So, I left, in hopes to see you again." "Hermine, you left FlurryClan because of me?" "Not because of you, because I ''love ''you." "I love you Hermine." Just then, paws sounded behind them. "What did you just say, Gingerleaf?" It was Tigerpaw! "Oh my StarClan! Tigerpaw, I haven't seen you since the battle!" "No, you haven't. And, my name isn't Tigerpaw anymore. It's Tigerfang." Hermine looked over to Tigerfang. "Congratulations, young Warrior!" Hermine meowed happily, "Thanks Hermine!" "I'm here to take you back home, Gingerleaf. Are you ready?" "No, Tigerfang, I'm not. I'm not leaving." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chapter 12